Conversations With El Diablo
by let's give this another try
Summary: Daniel has a broken leg and Claire arranges for Wilhelmina to look after him on Christmas-the 'mother' of bad ideas. Thank Beatrice Benedick for the change in title, she's got a keen eye
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Mommy's Got A Bad Idea

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Wilhelmina screeched, putting her hands on her hips.

"Holy crap" Marc muttered to himself, quickly spinning on his heel and running from her office. He had been about to enter when he heard her blow a fuse.

"There is no way I am going along with this, Claire. I may have to play nice with you and Hartley when we're discussing a magazine cover or a layout, but you can bet your ass I'm not going to do this."

Claire looked at Wilhelmina. She could see she was angry; her beautiful face was contorted into an expression so vicious, not even God would want to see it. "Good" she thought silently.

"Look, Wilhelmina, this isn't a request it's an order. I have to go out of town with Cal for three days to meet with advertising executives in Los Angeles. Daniel just broke his leg in a car accident last week; he's immobile, he's pissed, and he's stubborn. He won't take it easy unless someone is there to force him to. All I need is for you to do is to look in on him and make sure he doesn't overexert himself."

"Well, why don't you ask Betty to do it? For God's sakes, she'd run on a hamster wheel with her legs tied together is someone asked her to. She's his gopher, she's the perfect choice-she argues stupid ideas out of his head all the time!"

"Betty is going out of town. Christmas is two days away, and she's going to visit family."

"I'm not doing it! I have a right to a happy Christmas too, you know."

"Well, that would only be possible if people could be happy around you. Look, Wilhelmina, you're the only person here who is responsible enough to handle this. I sure as hell am not going to ask Marc or Amanda. In spite of the fact that you're a Botox-addicted bitch," Claire paused, smirking, "you're the only other person who can confront Daniel without a problem." Claire turned to leave Wilhelmina, who was standing there with her mouth wide open. Just before she reached the door, she turned back around. "Oh, by the way, if you don't do this, Cal and I will have you out on your ass in three seconds flat." She gave Wilhelmina one last, final glare before leaving. Wilhelmina huffed in annoyance. She couldn't _believe_ the audacity of that old crow. Sure, she never went anywhere for Christmas, spent it alone every year-hell, she never even got a tree-but that didn't mean she'd want to babysit Daniel while everyone else was having a good time.

"Damn it" she thought.

Daniel's mouth dropped.

"Mom, are you serious? No way am I staying with Wilhelmina. You've seen her here in the workplace; you put us in the same environment for more than an hour and we'll both end up dead!"

"We are not discussing this, Daniel," Claire said firmly. "My decision is final, and if you go behind my back you'll live to regret it."

"I'm not a three-year old, mom!"

"Look, you and Wilhelmina get along in an office setting. You don't even have to talk to each other; there's no one else who is responsible enough to do this, and Wilhelmina puts up a damn good fight. I needed to make sure I left you with someone who would make you miserable if you didn't follow the rules."

"Rules?! Are you serious? I didn't even have any rules to follow as a kid!"

"Yes; that was my mistake. But now you do and I'm asking-telling-you to follow them. It's only three days, Daniel. Quite your pity party and suck it up. If you hadn't been driving so fast, you wouldn't be sitting behind your desk in a wheelchair. Besides, the office closes today, Cal and I leave tonight, and you two will have time to relax and unwind. That should help you let go of each other's throats."

With that Claire left Daniel's office. He sat there, mouth still open, drool slowly dribbling down his chin. He noticed just in time and wiped his shirt sleeve across his mouth.

"Damn it" he thought.

"Nooooooo waaaaaayyyyyyy!" Amanda breathed in Marc's face. Marc nodded vigorously.

"I was eves dropping like I always do, and I heard the whole thing."

"Wow, leaving Daniel and Wilhelmina together would be like leaving Thelma and Louise alone."

"Amanda-Thelma and Louise were best friends."

"Really? Oh; well who are the two bitches that hate each other that I'm thinking about then?"

"I don't know, Josh and Brad in photography?"

"Probably."

Suddenly, Wilhelmina whizzed past Marc on her four inch heels. She had gone to break the hearts of interns to relieve her tension, and was on her way back to her office.

"Hi, Willie" he breathed, making a move to follow her.

"I'm not talking about this, Marc," she said not stopping. "One, because you were eves dropping and overheard it, and two because this is none of your stupid business!"

Marc stopped dead in his tracks and returned to Amanda.

"She must be realllly mad, Marc" Amanda whispered.

"Totally," was all he could reply as he watched her go, "I'm usually a part of all her horrible plans and schemes for someone."

"Maybe she doesn't _have_ a plan."

"Oh come on, Amanda, Willie always has an evil plan. It's part of the reason I idolize her so much" Marc pouted.

"True" said Amanda, twirling her hair.

Marc was right. Wilhelmina didn't have a plan. She couldn't get out of this or she'd lose her job; she couldn't kill him because she'd go to jail. She stepped into Daniel's office. He looked up from his computer and sighed, rubbing his face. He knew she wasn't happy.

"Wilhelmina, don't even start in on me; this was not my idea, I hate this as much as-"

"Oh will you shut-up? I _know_ this wasn't your idea, Daniel. You'd be hard pressed to give up your quality Christmas evening with Girls Gone Wild."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Hilarious, Wilhelmina. Look, if you heard the same crap I heard, you know we're not getting out of this. So we might as well figure out how best to bend the rules so that we're both happy and you don't lose your job."

"Daniel, get serious. We can't bend the rules, because if we do we'll break them. That's just who we are. So I suggest that you stay at my place until your mommy can come pick you up."

Daniel was shocked. "What? No way am I staying with you."

"Why not? You've been there before-with Renee, remember?" Wilhelmina's lips formed a sly smirk. Daniel gritted his teeth. She'd never let him live that down.

"Look, I'm not setting foot inside your apartment, Daniel. God only knows the places someone like you considers acceptable to live in. If you stay at my place, we'll be in an enormous apartment with enough rooms so that we'll never have to see each other face-to-face, and an amazing intercom system. This way, it'll be like we're alone."

Daniel thought for a moment. "What could she possibly want here? There's gotta be some reason she's letting me in her home."

Wilhelmina sighed heavily and placed her hands on her hips. "I don't want anything from you, Daniel. What I want is not to lose my job; that's why I'm opening my doors to you against my better judgment. I'll have a limo drop you off at my place at 8:00 tonight."

And with that she was out the door. Daniel sighed and leaned back in his wheelchair. Christmas with Wilhelmina. Who ever thought he's see that day?


	2. Chapter 2

Thank-you to everyone who has reviewed all my stories so far, I really appreciate it. Hope you enjoy this next installment.

P.S. After watching the new episode on Friday, I realized how much I really can't stand Connor. Even though it was against my better judgement, I really wished he'd been dead. *insert evil grin here*

Chapter 2: Personal Hell

True to her word-the sentence itself a contradiction-a limo was there to pick up Daniel from his apartment. The driver helped him from his wheelchair into the car, and Daniel spent the entire ride contemplating how he was going to get through the next four days. He stared out the window, watching the lights of New York fly by. He saw a group of giddy looking men exiting a pub with three gorgeous women.

"Should be me" he thought jealously. The limo came to a slow stop in front of Wilhelmina's apartment. Daniel's eyes nearly flew out of his head. The outside was lavish beyond imagination, the building itself a towering skyscraper that reminded him of something that once belonged in Gotham city. Daniel slid jerkily into his wheelchair, playing with the piece of paper in his pocket where Betty had written a phone number ("In case of _emergencies_, Daniel" she'd whispered gravely before leaving Mode earlier that afternoon). He wanted to make sure he kept a hand on it, should he ever feel the need to use it. A tall bellboy helped him and his luggage into the elevator and deposited him at Wilhelmina's doorstep. Daniel handed the boy a twenty and said, "Thanks, but I've got it from here." The boy looked doubtfully at him in his wheelchair, but shrugged and walked off nonetheless. Daniel turned back to Wilhelmina's door. He raised his hand to knock but stopped, and slowly lowered his hand back into his lap. "Am I seriously sitting here like a toddler because my mom _told_ me to? Screw this, I should be out having fun; I should be out at a bar; I should-"

Suddenly the door swung open, revealing an unamused looking Wilhelmina in a black negligee. "Does she even know how freaking cold it is outside?" Daniel thought incredulously. She tilted her head to one side and cocked her brow as she looked him up and down. He realized he must've looked kind of stupid, just sitting there, a grown man in a wheelchair surrounded by suitcases. He looked back at her as defiantly as he could.

"I'm not staying here" he said, trying his best to sound gruff and determined. She opened the door all the way and rolled her eyes.

"Don't kid yourself, wheels, you weren't going anywhere" she said, turning and leaving him in the hall.

"Hey," he called angrily, "couldn't you at least help me with my crap?"

She turned back to him. "Not my fault you don't know how to travel light." With that she was gone, and he could hear her heels clicking down the hall. He sucked in an angry breath and piled as many bags onto his lap as he could, trying to wheel himself forward, which proved difficult since he'd only been in a wheelchair for a week and couldn't see where he was going. He huffed and puffed angrily and when he figured that he'd wheeled his way into the living room he shoved the bags off of him.

"Three down, two to go" he muttered, looking at the bags strewn on the floor. He heard a giggle to his right and raised his head, his eyes landing on Wilhelmina. She was leaning against the wall of the hallway that led to what he assumed was her bedroom, as well as several others, sipping champagne, a bemused look on her face.

"No use looking back there, Daniel, because you're sleeping on the couch" she said, stepping forward and putting the glass down next to a table lamp. She looked down at his suitcases. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to be more careful with your things?" she said, wrinkling her nose, but smirking at him all the while.

He glared angrily back at her, his shirt and jacket rumpled from his trek from the front door.

"You said you weren't going to help me, Wilhelmina" he hissed, trying to spin his chair in such a way as to reveal his anger toward her. He found this to be more difficult than spinning on his heel.

"Oh for God's sakes, Daniel" Wilhelmina said, easily passing him as he struggled to turn his wheelchair toward the front door. She stepped out into the hall and kicked his bags into the foyer, too disgusted to actually lay a hand on them. His mouth dropped.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you to be more careful with other people's things?" he asked, his voice rising.

"How the hell should I know, she was never around" she said, glaring at him and shutting the door.

"Oh" Daniel said, feeling almost sorry he'd said anything. He turned himself back to the living room where she was placing his things onto a large, firm looking sofa.

"Alright, Meade, if you're gonna stay here you're gonna wanna make sure you follow the rules" she said, looking at him like he was suspect little child. He rolled his eyes, but listened nonetheless. "First, no inviting over anyone who's dumb enough to be your friend-that includes Betty. Two, I go to sleep at 10:00 every night, so if you're still awake, keep it down or I'll lash you to your chair so you can't use the bathroom. Third, there's food in the fridge-"

"Whoa, wait a second, you actually get your nourishment from things _normal_ people eat?" he asked sarcastically, pulling back his head and grinning at her.

She gritted her teeth, raising an eyebrow and slowly making her way toward him until she was directly in front of him.

"Only to sustain me long enough until I find my next victim" she said softly, crossing her arms in front of her. "I had Marc put food in there so I wouldn't have to hear you bitch about being hungry. Loaded up on Twinkies and marshmallows, stuff you can gum in case I knock out your teeth." She turned and walked into the living room.

"Oh, this'll be grand" Daniel thought, shaking his head. She reached toward an armchair and threw two animal fur blankets onto the sofa. "These are real Bengali tiger skins, so there's no way you can get cold but in case you do there's more in that cabinet over there" she said gesturing toward a large mahogany cabinet at the far end of the living room. Daniel looked around the apartment.

"Do you not believe in electricity or something?" he asked, directing his eyes toward the glass encased fireplace that provided the only source of light in the room. Even the hallway to her bedroom was completely dark.

"Do you need a nightlight?" she said, pouting her lips and frowning mockingly at him. "This isn't Yankee Stadium, you know."

Daniel sighed. "I was just asking, Wilhelmina."

She looked a little surprised that he hadn't thrown back a zinging retort. She sighed, annoyed, but decided nonetheless to satisfy his seemingly endless amount of curiosity.

"Why would I put in a bunch of lights in a place I live in alone?" she asked, walking back toward her bedroom. Daniel realized this was the second time she'd referred to being alone. He looked at the floor, and wheeled around.

"Wilhelmina" he said.

He heard her footsteps slowly returning to the living room. She appeared out of the dark, and he realized there was a certain weariness about her face he'd never seen before. She stared at him, waiting for him to speak.

"I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate the fact that you're letting me stay here."

"I'm not doing this voluntarily, Daniel" she said, looking at him like he was a colossal idiot.

"I know, but you did anyway and that's what's important. You could've just left me at my apartment."

She pulled back her head in surprise, as though the words had made physical contact with her body. He realized she probably didn't do anything to deserve a thank-you often enough not to be struck by the fact that he'd said it. She stared at him a moment longer, as if trying to figure out how to respond.

"You're welcome" she said emotionlessly, then turned and retreated to her end of the apartment. He heard her door click softly shut. It occurred to him that she probably wasn't used to having people invade her home. "Probably been alone ever since Connor took off" he thought, hoisting himself from the chair and slipping under the blankets on the couch. He thought about all the times he'd wondered what her life was really like, what she did after she went home. He realized he would've preferred his ignorant assumption that she hung upside down in a cave every night. It felt odd to him, feeling sorry for her. As he waited for sleep to come, he realized that the mild loneliness he felt being in a room so large must only be worse for her every night.

Wilhelmina was sitting on her bed, the TV flickering brightly in her otherwise dark room. She finished her champagne and made her way toward the kitchen for more. She stepped into the living room and stopped at the sight of Daniel, mouth slightly open, a light snore escaping his lips. She grinned in spite of herself. "I should take a picture" she thought mischievously. She was about to walk away when she noticed half of his right cast-covered leg was uncovered. She paused, then quietly put the glass on the coffee table by the sofa and reached a hand toward one of the blankets, carefully pulling it back over him.

"The last time I did that was when Connor was still around" she thought sadly. She looked down at Daniel. He looked so young and naïve in his rumpled shirt, his boyishly handsome face having resigned its usual intense expression to sleep.

"Molly" he said suddenly, startling her. He was talking in his sleep, his face looking almost forlorn. She realized that he must've been expressing in dreams the sadness he was too proud to express while he was awake.

"Looks like we've got something in common, Daniel" she whispered, thinking of all the times she'd dreamt that Connor had returned what he'd stolen from her and begged for forgiveness. It took her a while to realize that the bastard had taken her for everything she'd worked for and hadn't even loved her enough to feel bad and return it. She turned away and walked softly toward the kitchen.

"You're too busy grieving to know how lucky you were, Daniel" she thought as she filled her glass to the brim. "Molly loved you so much she fought Death to stay here as long as she could." She gazed out of the window into the sky, downing yet another glass of the only liquid that could so readily numb her emotions.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Unintentional Slip

Wilhelmina awoke to the sound of pots banging in her kitchen. It took her a moment to remember that Daniel was in her house and that she didn't need the gun she was reaching for-probably. She slid it back into the drawer and made her way toward the kitchen. She walked in and noticed he was struggling to reach the knob on her stove. She rolled her eyes and batted his hand out of the way, turning it on for him.

"Thanks, did I wake you? Sorry" he said as he poured the eggs he'd beaten together into the pan.

"No, I came out here just to see you" she said sarcastically, making her way toward the fridge and pulling out a bottle of orange juice. She took a glass from the cupboard and filled it.

"Well, can I at least make you something?" he offered gently.

"Daniel, do I look like someone who eats breakfast?"

He looked at her. Her face was completely free of make up, the first time he'd ever seen it that way. He liked it better than her usual glamour, but he had to admit she did look tired.

"You look tired" he shrugged.

"Gee, thanks" she said, placing the orange juice bottle back in the fridge.

"I didn't mean it like that, Wilhelmina, I-"

"I couldn't sleep last night, Daniel. I stayed awake all night watching 'The September Issue' and thanking God I don't look like Anna Wintour."

He furrowed his brow. "Do you always have sleep trouble?"

She turned to look at him for the first time since she'd entered the kitchen. She made her way to the other side of the counter and sat down on a metal stool.

"It's gotten worse since Connor jacked all our money."

He was surprised that she'd answered his question. He nodded and quietly said, "Yeah that was rough." He turned back to the stove and put his eggs onto a plate. He grabbed a fork and put his food on the counter, slowly standing up from his wheelchair and sitting on one of the stools so he could see it for the first time that morning. Everything in her house was too big or tall for someone who was without usage of one leg.

She noticed that they were actually sitting down together and thought to get up and leave, but decided she was too lazy. So she sat there, lightly twirling her finger around the rim of her glass.

"Are you gonna get a Christmas tree?" Daniel asked, breaking the silence. Dumb question.

"This isn't Wal-Mart, Daniel."

"You actually know there's a Wal-Mart?"

"All your clothes have to come from somewhere" she snorted sarcastically. "I don't do Christmas trees."

"Not even when you were a kid?"

"Boarding school."

"Oh" was all Daniel could think to reply.

She got up from the counter and put her glass into the sink. "I'm going to the office" she said, turning to leave.

"Wilhelmina, you know it's closed right?"

"Yeah, and so was Saks on Christmas, but I made them open the doors for me so I buy stuff for myself." And with that, she left him alone in the kitchen. An hour later, he was watching her living room TV when he heard her leave.

Wilhelmina returned 5 hours later. She'd really only gone to make Daniel believe that she had important things to do, and spent the whole time at her desk, clicking away at various high-end department store websites. She noticed something bright was sitting on the coffee table. She looked and saw that Daniel was sitting on the sofa fiddling with a small, Charlie Brown-sized fake tree.

"What is that?" she asked, narrowing her eyes as she stepped into the living room.

He looked at her, not knowing that she'd come back. "Oh, this? It was mine when I was a kid. My mom got it for me, I guess to make up for the Christmas's she knew she and dad weren't gonna be there. I've kind of hung onto it ever since."

Wilhelmina stared intently at the little tree. It was pretty, she had to admit, with its tiny glowing lights and glass ornaments.

"Well, just as long as you don't expect to find anything under there come Christmas morning we'll be good." She paused, then tossed her bags onto the floor and seated herself in an armchair adjacent to the sofa. "Claire didn't spend Christmas with you?" she asked, staring at the tree.

He was surprised she'd sat down and asked him anything, and it took a moment for him to realize she was waiting for a reply.

"No. Actually, she did once when I was five, but she drank too much and ended up knocking the tree over."

Wilhelmina nodded, pulling at her skirt.

"You spend all yours alone?" he asked, leaning back and resting his head against the back of the sofa.

She hesitated a moment before replying. "Before boarding school, my nanny usually woke me up and took me into the living room and left me there by myself to rip open every present to my heart's content."

"And how'd that go?" he asked quietly.

"Not so well."

There was an uncomfortable silence as they both digested the fact that they were having another one of their spur-of-the-moment honest talks. Before anything else was said, Wilhelmina got up and gathered her things, leaving the living room. Daniel made no attempt to stop her or call her back. He'd figured out by now that this was her way of withdrawing before he got too close, and decided not to do anything to make her more uncomfortable and wary of him.

It was almost 6:00 before she ventured back out into the living room. He'd heard her periodically throughout the day, exiting her bedroom every once in a while to enter another one located in the hallway, always out of site. He wondered what she could possibly have done for the past five hours. He, on the other hand, had flipped back and forth between sports channels and tried hobbling his way around the apartment, testing his ability to leave the chair. When she reappeared, he was once again in the kitchen, fixing dinner.

"God," she thought as she made her way to where he was, "does he ever stop eating?" She stepped into the kitchen and found him, back turned to her, standing in front of the stove stirring what looked like vegetable soup.

"Aren't you supposed to take it easy?" she asked, causing him to whirl around and nearly drop the wooden spoon he was holding.

"It was either I got out of that damn chair and did this myself or wait till you did it for me" he replied, turning back to his meal.

"So then your mommy won't kill me for letting you hobble like a chicken all over the place?"

"Nah. She meant don't let me get carried away at the office or the gym, but since they're both closed it looks like I've got no choice but to rest easy." He took the pot off the stove and poured some soup into a bowl. "You want some?" he offered. She looked down into the pot and saw that it was full of vegetables. She hadn't eaten all day and decided to chance it.

"Fine" she replied, sitting down at the counter along with him. She slowly dragged the spoon in a wide circle in the bowl, letting it cool down. She looked up at him; he was busy spooning his soup hungrily like a little kid at lunch and didn't notice she was watching him.

"So there's no real reason you need to be here then?"

He looked up from his meal. She was staring back at him, that same indecipherable expression on her face.

"I guess not" he said, realizing that he should've realized that sooner and pointed it out to his mom when she was busy laying down the law. He was waiting for her to kick him out, but instead she simply lowered her gaze back to her bowl and muttered "Hmm." He looked back down too, still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"This isn't bad" she said, breaking the silence. He looked back up and saw that she was looking at her bowl of soup.

"So it meets your culinary standards?" he said, a small smirk forming on his face.

"I said it wasn't bad, Daniel, I never said it was good" she said, smirking back at him.

"Well why'd you eat it then?"

She straightened on her stool, narrowing her eyes. "That smart mouth can introduce your hand to the hot plate."

"It already did" he said, looking down sheepishly.

"Serves you right" she said, continuing to eat.

The phone rang, and Wilhelmina jumped to answer it. "Hello?" she asked, sounding oddly hopeful. Daniel watched her face fall in disappointment. "Yes, he's still here; yes, he's _still alive_." She sighed in annoyance. "Goodbye" she said, firmly, clicking off the phone.

"Let me guess, my mom?"

"No, that was Marc. He wanted to know if I'd disposed of you yet."

"Well, I must be doing okay if I lived through the night" he laughed.

When she didn't reply, Daniel realized her mind was somewhere else. He looked at her for a few moments, her head hanging over her soup, her face drawn into an almost sullen expression.

He took a deep breath before he said anything. "You were expecting Connor, weren't you?"

"He's not the only thing I am capable of thinking about, Daniel."

"No; but he is the one you think about the most."

Wilhelmina stared at Daniel, the expression on her face suggesting that she was surprised he had actually dared to say that to her; few were brave enough to contradict what she said, so she wasn't prepared to handle this sudden spike in bravado.

"And you dream about Molly, Daniel, what's your point?"

"I'm not too brave to admit it."

Wilhelmina jumped from her seat. "Oh really; because it seems to me that your joining that little cult was a perfect way of hiding from the fact that you didn't know how to deal with her death!" she yelled.

Daniel blanched white. He stared at Wilhelmina a few moments, then stormed-as best he could on one leg-out of the kitchen. Wilhelmina stood frozen in the spot where he'd left her. In spite of the fact that she did enjoy saying whatever she wished, and barely bothered to censor herself, she hadn't meant to say exactly that. Sure, she enjoyed picking at people's weak spots and saying things that made their eyes pop; but that remark had sort of slipped out without her consent.

"Most people would probably apologize right now" she thought, almost involuntarily. Wilhelmina sucked in a breath, shrugged her shoulders, and twisted her lips into an annoyed pout.

"Thank God I'm not _most_ people" she thought, and then turned and sauntered out of the kitchen and passed the living room, where Daniel was sulking on the couch. It had taken him a couple seconds to realize that one's chances of storming off are considerably low when one is a) crippled, and b) not allowed into rooms with doors.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4: Stranger to Guilt

Daniel was still livid the next morning; he had Wilhelmina had spent the rest of the day avoiding each other. Wilhelmina had said a lot to him in the short time they'd known each other, but this time she'd gone too far, if that was even possible. He'd left that morning, wheelchair and all, and rolled himself to Mode to sit in his office, away from her damned apartment. He didn't really know why he'd done that, because he didn't have anything to do there. So he just sat in his office, pouting to himself and drawing a moustache on a picture he found of her in a magazine. After about two hours, he'd had enough of himself and his pity party and wheeled his way back to her house. He wondered if she'd jumped for joy when she realized he was gone.

"That bitch probably thinks I'm gone for good" he snickered to himself. "I can't wait to see her face when I wheel my happy ass through the door." His cocky attitude in tow, Daniel opened her door and pushed himself inside, kicking the door closed with his shoe. He made his way to the living room and stopped in his tracks when he lifted his head. There, in the middle of the room, was a Christmas tree. Not a flimsy little thing like the one he had. No, this was it, ornaments, branches and all. His mouth dropped. The thing had to have been at least 10 feet tall. He wheeled a little closer, trying to take it all in. He leaned forward a reached a gentle hand toward a piece of ribbon that was delicately laced around the tree, feeling the roughness of where it had been sprinkled with gold glitter. He slowly raised his head, looking at the different colors and shapes of the ornaments that made their way to the very top, greeting a raven-haired angel whose blue eyes peered back down on him.

"Did she do this because she felt bad, or was this an impulsive purchase she made to express her joy and the fact that I wasn't around this morning?" he wondered curiously. After some contemplation, he grabbed a blank piece of paper from the kitchen draw, folded it in half, and made a Christmas card for her. "At least I can tear it up if it turns out she was wishing me dead" he thought. Suddenly, the door swung open and Wilhelmina stepped into the apartment. She hadn't noticed him sitting there in the kitchen as she threw her purse down on the armchair. He slowly wheeled himself into the living room.

"What's this?" he asked, gesturing toward the tree. She looked up in surprise, and then resumed pulling off her gloves.

"It's a Christmas tree, Daniel. That's what your people get to celebrate the holiday, remember?" she answered, a small smirk forming on her lips.

Daniel cocked his head to the side and wheeled a little closer. "So…is this your way of saying you feel bad for what you said?"

"Well you were being nosy first!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening. She took a deep breath, stopping herself. "I just don't want to be known as someone who disrespects people who've lost the person they love, that's all" she said, retreating to the kitchen to get two glasses and a bottle of champagne. Daniel smiled to himself as he watched her come back and fill their glasses. "So I guess she's capable of feeling guilty after all" he thought as she handed him some champagne.

"Oh, before I forget, there's something I should give you now before your mom and Cal get here."

"What are you talking about, they'll be back tomorrow."

Wilhelmina shook her head. "While I was out they called and said they'd be here late tonight to take you back to your place."

Daniel shifted in his chair. "Is she seriously gonna charge me rent or something?" She reached into her purse and pulled out a small, wrapped object that looked like a book.

"Here" she said, holding it toward him, but avoiding his eyes. He took it slowly, trying to figure out what would happen if he opened it. He slowly unwrapped it as she sat down, smoothing her skirt. It was a beautiful silver picture frame, with a small white dove on the top left hand corner.

"What's this for?" he asked curiously.

She shrugged. "In case you have any pictures of Molly that don't have a frame yet" she said nonchalantly.

Daniel gazed at the object in his hands. "Wilhelmina, this is beautiful. I don't-"

"Look, don't waste your breath thanking me. Your time would be better spent appreciating the fact that this is the most thought I've ever spent on a gift for someone. Actually, it's the only thought I've spent, since Marc does all my shopping for me."

Daniel was shocked. He had no idea that Wilhelmina could actually come this close to being nice to anybody. "Well, before I leave, there's something I made you" he said, reaching for the card.

"Oh, let me guess, that's a picture of my grave" she said sarcastically.

"Just read it" he said, handing it to her. She cocked her brow but took it anyway. On the front, he'd drawn a picture of himself standing victoriously over her dead body, with a header that read '_Sometimes, I did want to kill you…'_

"Oh, gee, this is so thoughtful, Daniel."

"Open it, it gets better, I promise."

She glared and flipped it open angrily, expecting to find nothing. But instead there was a note on the inside.

'…_but I'm glad I didn't. If I had, I would've never had the chance to really know you. It's been fun. _

_ Merry Christmas,_

_ Daniel' _

Wilhelmina was taken aback. She looked at him. "Well, for the first time in my life I don't know what to say." She paused, turning back to the card in her hand. "Thank-you, Daniel" she said quietly, not meeting his eyes.

"You know, I'm glad my mom made us do this. I know she was hoping I'd kill you, and Cal was hoping we'd both be dead…but I really think this was good for us."

Wilhelmina laughed. "Well, one thing's for sure, I can't kill you now since everyone knows I was the last one to see you alive" she smirked.

Daniel grinned. "Especially not since your fingerprints are all over that card."

They sat in silence for a while. Daniel spoke first.

"When did my mom say she'd get here?"

"Sometime around 10:00 tonight; why?"

"Well, how about we get dressed up for the hell of it and go out to eat?"

Wilhelmina paused, and then giggled. "Daniel, I'd rather not repeat the boat incident."

He shook his head. "No, no, I mean for real this time. Let's go somewhere and have fun just to spite Cal."

Wilhelmina cocked her brow and lifted herself off the couch. "I'll be ready in an hour" she said, throwing her hair over her shoulder and disappearing down the hall. Daniel grinned. He headed into the bathroom to change and shave himself. Twenty minutes later he emerged wearing a shiny black business shirt, black pants, and leather shoes. He sat down in the living room and flipped on the TV; he was in the middle of an exciting football game when Wilhelmina appeared.

"Ready to go?" she asked. He turned and looked at her. Her hair was parted on the side and cascaded over one shoulder. She wore an emerald green silk Cavalli that stopped just above her knees, and long diamond earrings that just barely touched her shoulders. His mouth dropped, and it took a moment for him to realize he was gaping at her and he quickly turned away and wheeled himself toward her, slowly meeting her eyes.

"You look really nice, Wilhelmina."

"What's new?" she cracked, turning and opening the front door.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5: False Assumptions

The night air was cool and breezy as Daniel and Wilhelmina made their way down the sidewalk, chatting easily.

"That was delicious!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Told you to let me pick the place; Savrio's is top notch."

Daniel laughed. "Alright, alright, you were right" he said, wheeling himself slowly beside Wilhelmina. Suddenly, a large black town car pulled up beside them. Daniel and Wilhelmina stopped short, their hearts jumping in their chests. The window rolled down slowly, revealing none other than Claire and Cal. Claire jumped from the car.

"Where the hell have you two been?!" she hissed, her eyes darting back and forth between them.

Daniel and Wilhelmina looked and each other and shrugged. "Just out to dinner, mom, no big deal."

Cal, who had remained in the car looking disinterested, poked his head out the window. "Wait a second…you people were having dinner…together? Voluntarily?"

Wilhelmina crossed her arms. "Oh, please, you people act like we've never shared a civil moment together in all our lives. Perhaps there haven't been many…but there _were some_. It's not like we'll kill each other every time you leave us alone."

"Exactly," agreed Daniel, "we're not babies, you know. We can have a pleasant time together without being chaperoned."

Claire and Cal looked at each other and back and Daniel and Wilhelmina.

"If it's alright with you two, we'd like to get home and not freeze our asses off out here" Wilhelmina said, trotting past them. Daniel followed behind her. "You're more than welcome to meet us there, should take about 10 more minutes by foot."

Claire shook her head and got back in the town car. It slipped past Daniel and Wilhelmina and disappeared around the corner.

Wilhelmina shook her head. "Old people" she muttered. Daniel let out a quiet laugh. "I hope to God I never end up like that."

They arrived at the apartment to find Cal and Claire waiting in the lobby. They stood in stoic silence together in the elevator, Cal and Claire sneaking occasional sideways glances at Wilhelmina and Daniel. They entered the apartment and Daniel quickly shoved his things into his bags with Wilhelmina's help. Claire stared at them.

"What are you thinking about?" Cal whispered.

"Oh nothing, just wondering where I failed as a mother" she said, all the while watching them, wondering what exactly it was that caused this change in relationship. "Should've never left them alone together" she muttered under her breath.

Daniel turned to his mom. "Okay, I'm ready to go. Can you guys give me a hand?"

Cal and Claire bent to pick up his things and stepped out into the hall, followed by Daniel. He turned back to Wilhelmina, who had followed as well and was leaning against the front door.

"I had fun" he said, smirking at her.

She tilted her head. "Well it turned out better than everyone expected" she said, casting a glance at Cal and Claire.

"Thanks for frame, Wilhelmina" Daniel said, smiling earnestly at her.

Claire's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "She _gave you something?!_"

Wilhelmina turned to Claire. "Do they not celebrate Christmas up on Witch Mountain?" she pouted, causing Daniel to snicker.

Claire glared at him before turning back to Wilhelmina. "Just like they do in Hell" she said icily. Wilhelmina rolled her eyes and stepped back inside her apartment. She turned around and paused before saying, "Goodnight Daniel." He smiled. "Goodnight, Wilhelmina." She looked at him for a few moments before shutting the door. Daniel turned and rolled past Cal and his mom. "Ready to go?"

"It's about time; we nearly starved waiting for you two" Cal growled.

Daniel pressed the button on the elevator. "Oh, if you're hungry I know a great little place just 10 minutes from here. Ever been to Savrio's?"


End file.
